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February 15, 2009 at 12:00 am #194921dsullivanMember
We have property in Costa Rica that was in the hands of a specific company in San Jose who charged us a pretty penny to “hold our corp. books” and pay our land taxes (and all the necessary taxes such as Education and Cultura fees, stamps, etc.) each year. We were informed by a Lawyer (who we found on this site) that those fees were unnecessary, and we could find someone much less expensive. Thus, we withdrew our corporation books from the company and now have them in our possession here in Houston. We asked this same lawyer if he could recommend someone less expensive to handle our payments, and he gave us a name. We sent many emails to this company, and when they got back to us 3 months later, told us their fees…which are exactly 5 times the price of our previous company. This is out of the question for us, and we’re feeling like we’ve been duped.
Now my husband and I are becoming a bit concerned about our taxes and all the necessary fees that are due, and wonder how we’re going to get those paid.
It is our intention to retire there and build a home. We don’t get down there as frequently as we would like…we’re trying to pay off all our U.S. debts before retiring…so cutting back on the travel. Therefore, we won’t be able to take care of this task ourselves.Does anyone know of someone who can do this for us for a one time fee instead of charging us monthly fees? We just need someone we can trust who we can wire the money to, pay them their “one time” fee, and have them pay all our necessary taxes for us so we’re updated and in good stead with the govt. on our property.
Thanks,
DianeFebruary 15, 2009 at 3:37 pm #194922AndrewKeymasterI’m guessing that most people don’t want this work too much and therefore try to charge a silly, very high fee, just in case someone is willing to pay it …
Did you contact Randall Zamora – our Costa Rica tax expert – who has written many tax article for this site?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comFebruary 15, 2009 at 4:12 pm #194923dsullivanMemberYes, I guess we were ones willing to pay since we didn’t know the right resources when we bought our property. I just contacted Randall Zamora and we’ll wait for his reply.
We don’t mind paying a fee to someone for this, and we understand it can be a hassle…so will pay a decent fee for the help. We just don’t feel we need to pay someone every month. We already went that path for 2 years!
Thanks for the feedback and recommendation. We’ll see what Randall says.
Diane and Paul
February 15, 2009 at 4:19 pm #194924DavidCMurrayParticipantDiane and Paul, just where is this property?
February 15, 2009 at 4:33 pm #194925dsullivanMemberHi David,
We bought two pieces…one in Santa Maria de Dota, the other close to Tamarindo. We also talked my mom into investing in a small lot in Playa Tambor. So they’re a bit dispersed and all over the place. That’s what makes this particularly difficult.
February 15, 2009 at 11:49 pm #194926grb1063MemberThere are several excellent attorneys found on this site..see left hand bar on your screen. Fernandez, Peterson, Philps, et. al are all top notch CR lawyers. Scott is very thorough in demanding ability, honesty, savviness and economic value from the attorneys he has listed & I can personally attest to these attributes in 2 of 3 listed above.
February 16, 2009 at 10:14 am #194927dsullivanMemberThank you for your feedback. I wrote to Mr. Zamora yesterday and am awaiting his reply.
August 16, 2009 at 12:30 am #194928CHERYLJKMemberMy husband and I are having the same problem as you. We have been through 4 attorneys in 5 years. Our current attorney wants to charge us an arm and a leg for everything. If you have any success, I am hoping you will post your findings.
August 16, 2009 at 10:17 am #194929DavidCMurrayParticipantWhat is it you need to have done, Cheryl, and where?
August 16, 2009 at 8:30 pm #194930CHERYLJKMemberIn addition to a lawyer keeping our books and holding a yearly meeting, we have 2 problems we need resolved. When we formed our second corporation, it was mistakenly listed in the National Registry under the wrong name. So instead of having, say, the “Puppy” corporation, we have the “Ruppy” Corporation. These are not the real names, but just an example. One letter of the corp was changed. The second problem we have is that this particular corp was formed when we bought our second lot (we have 2 lots). But for some reason this lot is attached (for lack of a better word) to the original owner’s corporation, not ours. Our lots are located in Tambor. I must say that with the exception of the first lawyer, the other lawyers have always agreed to meet us in our hotel lobby in San Jose the morning of our departure, which is usually on a Saturday or Sunday. And we are very thankful for that. Right now our friends in Tambor have one of their lawyers looking into the second problem, and hopefully he will come up with a solution that is less expensive then what our lawyer wants to fix the problem. We can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on this.
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